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A woman in her 50s has died of rabies after being bitten by a dog while on holiday in South Asia.

The woman was reportedly turned away twice by doctors at Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford before she was finally diagnosed.

She was being treated at London's Hospital for Tropical Diseases.

In a statement, a spokesperson for UCLH said:

"We regret to announce that a patient being treated for rabies by the Hospital for Tropical Diseases and colleagues at University College Hospital died over the weekend. Our sincere condolences go out to her family."

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A possible new British case of rabies is being investigated, disease control experts have confirmed.

The Health Protection Agency said a second person was being tested for the disease, two days after it confirmed a case of the potentially fatal illness in a patient who had been bitten by a dog in South Asia.

The woman, believed to be a grandmother in her 50s, was reportedly turned away twice by doctors at Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford, Kent, before she was finally diagnosed. The hospital has launched an investigation.

An investigation is under way into how a woman suffering from rabies was reportedly turned away from a hospital Emergency Department.

The Health Protection Agency has confirmed a case of the potentially fatal disease in a patient bitten by a dog in South Asia.

The woman, believed to be a Grandmother in her 50s, is now being treated at London's Hospital for Tropical Diseases.

In a statement Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust said:

"If a patient does present at hospital with vague symptoms a doctor is unlikely to consider rabies as a diagnosis unless the patient highlights wild animal contact in an at risk country. The hospital responded to the information supplied by the patient at the time."

The patient is being treated at London's Hospital for Tropical Diseases.

We would like to reassure our patients, visitors and staff there is no risk to them as a result of this case.

– London's Hospital for Tropical Diseases spokeswoman

The Sun reported that the woman was of Indian origin and was in India with her husband when she was bitten by a puppy.

As a matter of routine, if the woman had any pets at home tests would have been carried out on them to check the virus had not been passed on, a spokesman from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said.